Wailin' Walker

BIOGRAPHY

"Wailin Al Walker has been "The Man" on the Vancouver music scene for 2 decades now. That is a fact that no one who hears him will argue with and many musicians with pretty big reputations (Long John Baldry, Johnny Winter, Otis Rush) have declared him to be one of the very best blues pickers alive in North America."

MUSIC

The Wailin' Walker Band plays good-time boogie and they play it well. This Vancouver group's new CD rocks nonstop, with high energy and a clean, bright sound.
"Tryin' to Find my Baby," the opening track, shows Big Al Walker's band at their best. The singer/guitarist plays T-Bone Walker-style licks over a rolling groove, punctuated by simple but effective horn riffs. This is dance music, pure and simple.
Walker wrote most of the tunes here and, when he hits on a good lyrical theme like "While You're Down There," the results are memorable. This slow burning blues has Hammond B-3 organ and electric guitar meshing to create a densely textured sound while the vocals are reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan.
An instrumental, "Dawn 'til Dusk," highlighted some nice jagged soloing by Big Al. Another guitar showcase, "Devil Made Me Play," is even hotter but, unfortunately, is less than two minutes long.
Other than those two workouts, the band adheres rather slavishly to the boogie formula,

Wailin' Al Walker is a seasoned veteran of the West Coast music scene. A well respected and talented songwriter/musician, this electrifying guitarist has shared the stage with the likes of Johnny Winter, James Cotton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker,